Rooted in Ease

Thank you for joining me for this rooted and ease practice where we will explore some grounding shapes that help us feel present grounded and at ease. So the mantra that we'll work with in this practice is just that. I am grounded, I am present, and I am at ease. Let's begin in one of what I feel is the most grounding yoga shapes child's pose. So as you come into child's pose, you're welcome to bring the knees together or you can find a separation in the knees, bring the big toes together.

And just take a moment to ground into child's pose, so walking the hands forward. Maybe the third eye, the forehead rests on the earth, maybe even rock your head side to side, really feeling the parts of the body that are making contact with the earth, the palms of your hands, the tops of your feet, the forehead. Feeling that support of the earth beneath you. I am grounded, rooted, At ease, I feel held here. Tune into the rhythm of your breath, letting the breath be the anchor to this present moment.

Breathing in. Grounding a little more as you breathe out. Good. And take your time. We'll make our way up to tabletop. As you come to all fours, let your shoulders come over your wrists, hips over knees.

We'll move into some cat cow, inhale arch your back, look up and lengthen. Exhale rounding through the spine, tuck the tailbone, tuck your chin, feel that opening through the back body cat pose. Inhale for cow, exhale for cat. Inhale for cow, and exhale for cat rounding, press the floor away. Mhmm. Good. And then find that place between cat and cow neutral spine.

We'll make our way into downward facing dog. Walk your hands slightly in front of your shoulders, tuck your toes, lift your hips, all the way up and back. And then right away feel beneath the palms of your hands as soles of your feet grounding into this first downward facing dog. If there's any movement that would feel good to support you here, honor that. Maybe it feels good to find stillness feel that rooted connection through the soles of the feet, the palms of your hands like roots grounding into the earth, soil.

Good. On your next breath in, glide to plank pose, top of a pushup, and then lower your knees and come back into child's pose. Maybe the knees are together this time. Let your hips sink back towards your heels for a moment. And then round back up through tabletop, tuck your toes and lift your hips up and back to downward facing dog. Let the heels melt down, torso pressing back toward the top of the thighs. Let's do that a few times connecting our breath to the movement. Inhale forward to plank pose, top of a pushup.

Xhale lower your knees. Come to child's pose. Let your hips sink back towards your heels. On an inhale round back up to tabletop, tuck your toes, lift the hips up and back, downward facing dog. Good one more with the breath in, how moving meditation, plank pose, exhale knees lower, child's pose, inhale table, and exhale tuck the toes downward facing dog. Good.

Pick up your hands. Walk them all the way to the back of the mat, feel the earth beneath your hands as you come into a forward fold, let your feet be about hips distance, maybe even a little wider. Gender is bending your knees. Allow everything to melt down. And then what would feel good with your arms? Maybe you're holding opposite elbows or you could take an interlace behind the back of your head, see what feels best for you, and then maybe invite a sway side to side. You might shake your head. Yes.

And no. Releasing any tension you might be holding in the neck and the shoulders. If you have the opposite elbow, take the opposite one on top for a few, full deep breaths, or interlace with the opposite thumb on top just to balance it out a bit. Good. And then let your hands find the earth and slowly walk your way all the way back to down dog again, finding the earth beneath your hands as you walk forward with intention. With attention, deliberate movement.

From down dog, sweep your right leg up and back, bend your knee, open up through that right hip, and find any movement in that right side. Maybe roll out your foot, your ankle, your knee. See if you can press evenly through both hands, allow your shoulders to stay level, and then straighten your right leg square off your hips flex your right foot gaze forward and step your right foot through between your hands. One step, bunch of steps doesn't matter. Let your back knee lowers.

You come up onto your fingertips. Welcome to take a couple blocks under your hands. Allow a big full breath in to lift the chest. As you exhale shift back for Arda Hanamasana, half split hamstring stretch folding over that front leg, lift the toes up off the earth. And then moving between those two shapes a couple times, inhale back to your low lunge exhale shift back half split fold over your front leg.

I'm keeping my fingertips tinted on either side of the front foot. Inhale to re bend, come back to that low lunge, feel the opening and the psoas, hip flexor. Exhale feel the opening and the hamstring. Beautiful. And then re bend through that right knee, plant your palms and just step back to downward facing dog. And from here, glide to plank pose, take a very slow lower all the way down to your belly.

Untuck your toes. Press into the top of the feet for cobra. Peel the chest up. Keep it nice and low so that the chin is tucked. Back of the neck is long.

So if you were to float your hands up off the earth, notice where that lift comes from, and then exhale lower that down. We'll take that two more times in hal bujangasana, cobra, peel the chest up, stay nice and low and long. And exhale release. Got one more inhale, peel up. Exhale release pressing back into down dog either through hands and knees or up through plank, lift your hips.

All the way up and back. Allow a big cleansing breath in, and a long breath out. Nice, float your left leg, up and back, bend the knee, open the hip, find any movement here. Keep pressing through both hands, allow your shoulders to stay level. Any movement, maybe matching what you did on the first side.

Notice if this side feels different. Good. Straighten your left, legs square off your hips, flex your left foot, gaze forward, and take a step through between your hands. Let your back knee lower down to the ground. Come onto your fingertips. Lift the chest, lift the gaze, big breath in.

Exhale, shift back, fold over your front leg, hamstring stretch. Find some length in your spine as you do that. And then with your breath inhale to re bend, come back into the lunge, exhale fold over your front leg, Arta, Hanamam, and one more. Inhale re bend, feel the oas, hip flexor, exhale shift back, feel into your hamstring. Good. Rebend through the left knee, and we'll step back to downward facing dog.

Inhale to plank, slow, lower all the way down. Just one cobra this time, breathe in, lift up, lengthen. And exhale back downward facing dog. Allow a big breath in and a long breath out. And then slowly walk your feet to the front of the mat this time.

Really feel the soles of your feet on the earth. As you walk forward. As you get to the front of the mat, soften your knees and roll up nice and slow one vertebra at a time, bring your shoulders with you up towards your ears. Roll them down the back and take a moment to pause in mountain pose, tadasana, bring the palms to face forward, feel the lift in the heart space in the sternum. And then connect inward to your breath, to the beating of your heart.

At the same time, feel the soles of the feet, grounding, connecting, That support, that stability, what's holding you up here. Good. And then as you're ready, come to chair pose, bend your knees, sweep the arms up, utkatasana, big breath in. Forward fold, exhale, uttanasana, let it go. Come halfway up on your inhale, hands on shins or earth lengthen your spine. Plant your palms firmly into the earth and step back to plank. Shift forward halfway or all the way down. I'm gonna stay low.

You might stay with cobra if you're wanting up dog, feel free to straighten the arms. And firm the thighs up off the earth. We'll meet back and downward facing dog. Take your time to arrive. Big breath in.

Long breath out. I float your right leg all the way up and back. XL step through. Stay on the ball of your back foot. You might widen your stance a little bit by stepping your left foot to the left a bit.

And then reach both arms back as you hover up off your front thigh. Engage your core. Reach the crown of the head forward. So there's this line of energy from the crown to back heel, and then sweep your left arm forward. And then use that left arm to bring you all the way up and open for warrior two.

I'm gonna just take a moment to land, feel the stability in your legs, that grounded quality through the legs, but that lightness and ease in the upper body. So we're rooted in ease in this shape Find that ease within your effort. Good. And then flip your front palm. Keep the legs as they are tilt back, reverse warrior. Extended side angle, elbow to thigh, top arm can go straight up or over your ear, feel that line of energy from fingertips to back heel.

Breathe. Beautiful. And then root to rise, come back up warrior two. Bring your hands to your hips, straighten your front leg, parallel your feet to face the side of the mat. You might shorten your stance just a bit. On an inhale draw the elbows back, lift up through the heart space and with a long spine, find wide leg, forward fold proserita. Maybe the hands find the earth.

Maybe they find your ankles or a couple blocks. Just taking a moment to fold proserita. Whatever feels good with your arms is great. Feel free to soften the knees a little bit sealing the outer edges of the feet down and lifting up on your kneecaps engaging through your quadriceps. Beautiful.

Now, walk your hands underneath your shoulders to lengthen and come halfway up. Bring your hands to your hips with a long spine come all the way back up to stand. This time, turn your toes out. Let your heels turn in and sink into goddess pose. So let your knees come right over your ankles, let your tailbone melt down.

And then just take a moment to draw your hands together in front of your heart as you sink in Feel that stability, strong legs. Again, that lightness and ease in the heart space. Good. Now straighten through the legs parallel, the feet sweep the arms all the way up. And then coming back to warrior two, turn the right toes to face the front of your mat and sink in for a moment, strong legs. Flip your front palm tilt back, reverse warrior.

And then circle it down and through vinyasa, feel free to skip it. You might float that right leg up as you lower chaturanga, inhale cobra or updog. Exhale, downward facing dog, good second side inhale, sweep the left leg all the way up, exhale to step through maybe widen your stance a bit as we come up to hovering crescent. So once you have that stability in the legs, sweep the arms back and hover up off that left thigh. Find that line of energy from crown to back heel, reach your right arm forward this time, and then let that right arm bring you up and open for warrior two facing the side of the mat.

Take a moment. Find your intuitive alignment to sink in, to find stillness, to breathe, solid, low body, lightness and ease in the upper body. More than anything. Find your breath. Beautiful, and then flip your front palm.

Keep the legs tilt back. You might even sink a little deeper into that front knee. Extended side angle, elbow to thigh, top arm can go straight up or over your ear. Let the pinky side of your right hand spin down and then draw the right shoulder back into the shoulder girdle. Fill the shape with your breath.

On your next breath in, warrior two, straighten your front leg parallel your feet to face the side of your mat. Maybe take the hands behind you, catch an interlace or anything that feels good with your arms. Allow a big breath in. And then forward fold, prasarita, whatever feels good as you get upside down here. Soften the knees a little bit, engage your quadriceps.

Shifting perspective. We get upside down, heart up over the head. Walk your hands under your shoulders, lengthen through your spine, bring your hands back to your hips with a long spine, come all the way up to stand, turn your toes out in the heels in. Sync in for goddess pose. Maybe sway a little side to side just to find your center and then draw your hands together in front of your heart.

You could also cactus your hands on either side of your shoulders. See what feels best in this moment. Gonna sink in a little more, really yielding to the support of the earth. Good as you inhale straighten your legs parallel your feet, sweep the arms up, maybe gaze up, and then the left toes face the front of the mat for warrior to sink back in. Take a moment.

Flip your front palm, tilt back, reverse warrior. And then circle down to the ground, step back, vinyasa, maybe float your left leg up this time, Chaturanga. Inhale cobra or upward facing landing in down dog. Take a moment to root here, anchor back to your breath. Breathing in, breathing out, rise high up onto toes, bend knees, look forward, step or float front of the mat, inhale to lift halfway, exhale fold, bend your knees, chair pose, utkatasana, and then press to stand straighten the legs, feel the lift in the upper back, the gaze, and draw your hands together in front of your heart. I am grounded.

I am present with my breath. I am at ease. And from here, let's come into tree pose. I'm going to separate my feet just a bit, really grounding through the soles of the feet. You're welcome to kickstand your left toes down on the earth, you could take that left foot to your right calf, or maybe reach down, find the left ankle, bring the foot to the inner upper thigh.

Finding whatever variation works for you. Just try not to press your foot into the knee. Find your drishti one point to focus your gaze. You could stay right here hands to heart or maybe sweep the arms up. Good.

Embbrace the wobble. Find your center. Good. And then from here, start to draw your left knee in towards your chest. Engage your core. And we'll take a very slow lever back into warrior three.

I'm drawing hands together and front of the heart, letting that left leg go back and then find warrior one so that left foot finds the earth. You might need to adjust your stance a little bit very badrasana ones sweep your arms up, sink in for a moment. And then take your hands behind your back and interlace. Draw the shoulders back. Lean back a bit as you bend a little deeper into that front knee. Big breath in.

Humble warrior, bow forward, reach the arms up, let the crown of your head melt down, and let's stretch in your shoulders such a beautiful shape of humility, devotion, But as you release your hands, bring them to either side of your front foot, step your left foot in into the left for pyramid pose. Let everything melt down. Pull over that front leg. Spine nice and long. Good. And then step your left foot.

To meet the right, soft knees, roll up slow, one vertebra. At a time, we're back to where we started. Root down through the soles of the feet and we'll take it to the second side. Tree pose start to bring the weight into your left foot. You could kickstand the right toes down.

Bring your right foot to your calf or reach down. Find the right ankle. And bring the foot to the inner upper left thigh. Make sure the frontal hip points, the bony parts of the hips are facing straightforward like headlights, maybe sweep your arms up. Find your balance or not embracing the wobble.

Gonna be different every time we show up to our mat. Bringing that awareness to the present moment. And then start to draw your right knee in towards your chest. Engage your core lever back warrior three. Right leg goes back. Keep the sternum lifted.

Find that point to focus your gaze and then as softly as you can, warrior one. That right foot finds the earth, you might need to adjust to your stance a little bit. Sweep the arms up, sink in. Good. And then take hands behind the back opposite thumb on top. Draw the shoulders away from your ears.

Allow a big breath in. Bow forward. Humble, devotional, warrior. Reach the arms up. Let the crown of your head melt down.

Let's something go here. Give it away to the earth. Good. And then release your hands on either side of your front foot pyramid pose. Step the right foot in into the right a bit, hips are level. Fold over your front leg.

Couple breaths to release to let go. Beautiful. And then we'll step the right foot to meet the left forward fold front of the mat roll up slow one vertebra at a time. This time to sweep your arms all the way out and up. Bow forward prayer in front of the heart forward fold. Inhale to lift halfway.

Step back through a vinyasa if you'd like or right into downward facing dog. I'm gonna take a lower all the way down. COBRA or updog. And then downward facing dog, bring the feet together at the back of your yoga mat, glide back to plank pose and slowly lower all the way down. To your belly, slide the forearms forward, see you're in sphinx pose. Let the forearms come to the earth, elbow slightly in front of your shoulders, press into the top of the feet.

And reach your heart between the window of your arms gaze straightforward. And this is actually a really active shape. So keep the legs involved. You might feel a little compression in your lower back. It's actually a really nice shape for heart opening, chest opening, also releasing tension in the lower back.

Good. From here, stack your hands, let your elbows Slay out to the side, rest your forehead on top of your hands for a moment, and then just let your bones get really heavy. Let everything sink down into the earth. Maybe sway your hips side to side. Good. And then reach your right arm out to the right palm facing down like a t shape. Tent your left fingertips on the outside of your left shoulder.

Bend your left knee. Roll to your right hip in the right side of your face and step your left toes behind you. Enjoy this nice shoulder stretch, this twist, one of my favorites, allowing a couple of breaths here. What might you soften and release just a little bit more? Good as you come back through center, take a moment, reach both arms back.

You might catch an interlace. Behind your back lifting up for Shalabhasana, lift and lengthen back of the neck nice and long. You could add the legs, engage your core, breathe in, and breathe out to re Please reach your left arm out like a t, palm down, tent your right fingertips, bend your right knee. Roll to your left hip this time, and step the right toes behind you. Let the left side of your face relax, and you could take that right hand behind your back or just keep the fingertips tinted on the ground.

As much as you can release into the support beneath you. Beautiful. Come on out of there. Again, reach both arms back actively or maybe catch an interlace with the opposite thumb on top, lift up. Shalabhasana, lift in lengthen, tuck the chin, find lengths. Gage your core, protect the spine, big breath in, and exhale. Release down. Maybe reverse windshield wiper.

Your knees or sway your hips side to side just to let that go. And then press back to child's pose. Just briefly feel that nice opening. Through the back body, send the breath all the way to the back body grounding in this shape that we started with. Beautiful, and then rolling up.

Shift your weight off to one side. We'll meet on our backs. As you come onto your back and roll down, bring your knees with you, hug them into your chest. And rock a little side to side massage through the low back, maybe take your knees in circles, bridge pose, let the soles of the feet find the ground, hips distance, maybe brushing the back of your heels. With your fingertips.

And then pressing into the soles of the feet and the palms of your hands start to lift your hips. Chest to chin, maybe interlace behind the low back. It'll take a nice long hold here as you lift from the hamstrings. Breathe, feel that opening in the front body, that strengthening in the back body, really grounding down through all four corners of your feet. Good big breath in.

Exhale slowly release. All the way down, step your feet as wide as your yoga mat, let your knees knock in to touch. Take a moment, rest your hands on your low belly. Feel the breath beneath your hands. And then reach your arms up over your ears.

Drop both knees to the right. And then the left windshield wiper side to side just smoothing out any tension. Feel free to linger on either side. Otherwise, finishing up with the knees, to the left, hug your knees, back in, wrap your forearms around your shins, hug everything into a tight little ball. Allow a very big breath in holding the breath up at the top.

Sip in a little more air, and then let everything release for shavasana, let your body feel held as you straighten out the legs long on your mat. Arms on either side of the body, palms facing up, and take a moment to notice the parts of the body that are connected to the earth, allow them to feel grounded and supported. Just take a moment here to rest Shavasana. Feel free to stay in this shape as long as you'd like in Shavasana. Otherwise, inviting some movement.

Back in, fingers, toes, ankles, wrists, think a full body stretch reach your arms up over your ears. Allow a big breath in here and a long breath out. Make your way to seated and your own time. We'll just take a moment to ground together, feel your sitting bones rooted on the earth, gathering hands together in gratitude in front of the heart center. Thank you so much for sharing this rooted practice with me. You have a beautiful rest of your day.

Namaste.